Georgia Outspending North Carolina in Education

There is no question that many school systems are struggling financially and teachers have been hit by several years of furloughs, but it is also important to put our spending into context.

You may have heard references to the $6 billion in “austerity cuts” to education that have accumulated since 2003. This is compared to the outdated QBE funding formula that was first put in place in 1985 and has not significantly changed in the last 27 years. North Carolina is a better real-world comparison with a similar population and similar demographics. This tells a far different story. On a per student basis, we have outspent North Carolina by $18 billion since 2003.

In 2009, Georgia had 1,630,541 students. (Source: Georgia Department of Education) If Georgia had spent $9,679 instead of $11,446 it would have saved nearly $3 billion ($2,881,165,947 to be exact) in that year alone.

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The Foundation should take a lot of pride in your influence on Georgia governmental policy over the past several years. If you look back on several things that you were crying in the wilderness about several years ago, you will find that Governor Miller adopted them…your influence and your pressure on that process has been a major factor in governmental policy in Georgia. You should be congratulated.